Empty

Chapter 25

To her surprise, it wasn't Luke that answered the door. It wasn't Adam either. It was the empty girl.

It took a second for Quinn to recognise her. The black veins had pretty much disappeared from her face overnight and her eyes looked almost human, except completely colourless.

She was very pale, with white-blonde hair which matched her skin perfectly. On closer inspection, her grey dress was a little too big for her, and the sleeves covered her hands almost entirely. It seemed to have been washed, but was still stained with something black, and something rusty brown. Her hair had evidently been cut since she'd last seen her, just past her ears and cheeks in lopsided strands. There were thick scars across her face, arms and legs, with plasters dotted across what little remained of her skin. Her ribs were visible through her shirt.

She didn't realise she was staring until the girl broke the silence. "You're the angry girl," she said matter-of-factly.

"Where's Luke?" She snapped. "Who are you?"

"Very, very angry," she said with a giggle. Her voice was quiet and hoarse, like every word hurt a little. "Is it because you're so short?"

Quinn glared at her. That was just uncalled for. In fact, it didn't even make sense. From what she could tell, they were practically the same height. "Is this funny to you?"

"Should it not be? I'm sorry." She looked slightly embarrassed for a moment before continuing, "My name is Jessica O'Neil."

"Where's Luke?" She repeated, slightly louder.

"Oh, I know who that is. He's my friend. He is..." She looked behind her as if to reaffirm the floor he was on. "Upstairs. He was reading something, and he told me to wait here."

There was an awkward pause.

"You should come inside. Water is... In your hair." She gestured at her own hair for emphasis.

Quinn felt her hair and her hand came away wet. It hadn't exactly been the first thing on her mind, but she was suddenly aware of how cold it was.

"I know what you are thinking," she said as soon as the door had closed behind her. "He... He gave me this bracelet, so I can't hurt you." She showed her a manacle-like strip of metal which was strapped around her wrist. "I wouldn't want to, though."

Quinn paused, studying her expression. She didn't look anything like the creature that had attacked them the day before. She looked confused more than anything else. Logically, she knew how dangerous she was, and that just being around her posed a huge threat, but it didn't seem to fit her image at all.

"I wasn't thinking that." She lied. "He... He left you here on your own?"

"I have restraints and orders not to do anything bad."

At that moment, Luke walked into the room, laptop under his arm. He stopped when he saw her. "When did you get here?" He turned to the empty girl. "Jess, I told you not to answer the door!"

"What's your problem?" Quinn interrupted. "I'm not gonna shoot you, am I?"

"You can't just disappear off the face of the earth for days and then show up again. They could have got to you."

She laughed awkwardly. "Well, it was pretty close, if I'm honest..." She trailed off at his expression.

"What does that mean?" He asked, not quite calmly.

"My friends all have keys to my house." She said. Luke opened his mouth, so she hastily added, "I've known them all for years, it's never been a problem until now."